Ex-SARS official in grilling at CCMA

AS NEW finance minister‚ Malusi Gigaba met SA Revenue Services commissioner Tom Moyane to present a “united front” after the surprise axing of his predecessor‚ Pravin Gordhan‚ kilometres away SARS was locked in a battle with a senior former employee.

Ex-SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay yesterday morning faced intense crossexamination at the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) offices in Johannesburg.

Lackay‚ who resigned from SARS in February 2015‚ says he was “forced” out of the organisation because of a breakdown in working relations with Moyane.

The poor working conditions relate to allegations that a rogue spy unit had been established and operated from within SARS.

In his previous hearings before the CCMA on the matter‚ Lackay testified the working conditions were untenable and that he has been identified as a “problem” in SARS communication machinery.

Earlier yesterday morning‚ Lackay was grilled by SARS lawyer‚ Wisani Sibuyi, who asked whether he “hated” Moyane and his management style.

“You claim that management wanted to get rid of you … that you were targeted‚ yet management never got rid of you. Why would you believe this?” asked Sibuyi.

Sibuyi said he would show how Lackay was “rude” and “disrespectful” to his managers.

“An example of this‚” said Sibuyi‚ “is a leave application you put in. You were instructed to meet with Moyane and inform him of this but never did‚” he said reading from an e-mail his line manager had sent Lackay.

“In this e-mail you were admonished. Your line manager says to you that you ignored his request‚ not once but three times.

“We will show that you are rude and disrespectful. That you deliberately disobey lawful instructions.”

Lackay responded that he had never neglected his work duties.

“I tried to do my work‚ while things were hidden from me when the organisation was in serious trouble in the media.

“On crucial decisions the institution makes‚ I was kept out of the loop. Being kept out of the loop meant that I couldn’t do my work properly.

“I learnt that I was seen as part of the problem‚ which is why people were cutting me out of the loop.”

The hearing continues. — TMG